Following the tremendous success of "Cross Bones, "Kathy Reichs explores another high-profile topic in Break No Bones -- a case that lands forensic...
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Dec 17, 2009
Jocelynneb
rated it: 
I don't know if maybe I'm getting over this style, maybe too much Law and Order watching, but this was a little boring for me.
Yeah, it had all the classic KR stuff...bones, mystery, more bones, more mystery.
But it was so predictable! I think that's the main reason I was bored with it. Tempe's in trouble again, but now she has Ryan AND Pete to help her out, which is just annoying as hell. And throw in some 'colleague' never mentioned before, and there you go, another KR More...
Yeah, it had all the classic KR stuff...bones, mystery, more bones, more mystery.
But it was so predictable! I think that's the main reason I was bored with it. Tempe's in trouble again, but now she has Ryan AND Pete to help her out, which is just annoying as hell. And throw in some 'colleague' never mentioned before, and there you go, another KR More...
Oct 12, 2007
Shirley
rated it: 
If you like mysteries and forenics, then this is the book for you. It's written by a Canadian forensic anthropologist from Montreal. Kathy Reichs works for the Chief Examiner in North Carolina and Laboratoire de sciences et de Medecine Legale in Quebec.
This is her ninth book about a forensic anthropologist who is always getting too emotionally involved in strange murder cases. It's not too heavy on the science and tech language and it is fairly engaging. The story moves along q More...
This is her ninth book about a forensic anthropologist who is always getting too emotionally involved in strange murder cases. It's not too heavy on the science and tech language and it is fairly engaging. The story moves along q More...
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Feb 02, 2009
Toni
rated it: 
Dr Temperance Brennans work brings her and her archaeological students to an ancient Native American burial ground near Charleston. While there they uncover a decomposing body in a shallow grave.
Why was this body buried in a clandestine grave? And what does the unusual hairline fracture and condition of the sixth vertebrae signify? What began as a simple project turns into a heated homicide investigation when three more bodies are found. While investigating, Tempe crosses paths with More...
Why was this body buried in a clandestine grave? And what does the unusual hairline fracture and condition of the sixth vertebrae signify? What began as a simple project turns into a heated homicide investigation when three more bodies are found. While investigating, Tempe crosses paths with More...
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Nov 25, 2008
Jan
rated it: 
Pretty good. Private human angle as well as the mystery of the bones... Very different from the TV series. Better in that the good doctor is much more believeable as a person.
Temperance Brennan, anthropologist with the Univ of N Carolina at Charlotte on a summer dig at Dewees, a barrier island north of Charleston, S Carolina finds a newer body (one to five years) buried along with archaelogical bones of the Sewee Indians. Helping out her friend, Emma Rousseau of the Charleston Cou More...
Temperance Brennan, anthropologist with the Univ of N Carolina at Charlotte on a summer dig at Dewees, a barrier island north of Charleston, S Carolina finds a newer body (one to five years) buried along with archaelogical bones of the Sewee Indians. Helping out her friend, Emma Rousseau of the Charleston Cou More...
Mar 06, 2011
Genie
rated it:
Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is spending two weeks in on Dewees, a barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina, leading a student excavation of a Native American burial site. When a recently deceased body is found, Tempe begins working with her friend, Emma Rousseau, coroner at the Charleston County Coroner's Office to try to identify the victim, Tempe becomes more involved in the investigation than she initially intended to when she learns Emma is ill and unable to work the case.
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Jan 16, 2011
Tom
rated it:
To recap my prologue in the review I wrote for Bones to Ashes: I am a fan of the series Bones who has decided to try and read the Temperance Brennan novels and see if I enjoy them as much as the show.
It's just not working out as well as I'd hoped.
This book isn't as bad as the other one I had read (the aforementioned Bones to Ashes). These stories all have the same MacGuffin: a mysterious dead body - more specifically: the bones. The mystery of the deceased is always the goo More...
It's just not working out as well as I'd hoped.
This book isn't as bad as the other one I had read (the aforementioned Bones to Ashes). These stories all have the same MacGuffin: a mysterious dead body - more specifically: the bones. The mystery of the deceased is always the goo More...
Mar 25, 2010
Bethany
rated it: 
I've read two of these books now and I think that's about it for me. The writing is poor to mediocre, full of cliches and awkward phrasing, the characters are mostly walking stereotypes of themselves, and the descriptions are often dripping with unnecessary emotion. Too much telling, not enough showing, as every writing teacher I've ever had would say. I wasn't looking for literature, just something to tide me over in waiting rooms and on planes, but I found myself rolling my eyes and actuall
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Oct 09, 2009
Lance Greenfield
rated it:
Great story, but I struggled with the language
Once you get behind the strongly American version of English and the Reichs style of short-sentenced rhetoric, there is a good story lurking in this book.
Normally, I can understand those small differences between English English and American English, but there were just too many times, whilst reading this book, that I just had no idea what was meant!
The narrative is also littered with three-letter acronyms, some ex More...
Once you get behind the strongly American version of English and the Reichs style of short-sentenced rhetoric, there is a good story lurking in this book.
Normally, I can understand those small differences between English English and American English, but there were just too many times, whilst reading this book, that I just had no idea what was meant!
The narrative is also littered with three-letter acronyms, some ex More...
Apr 11, 2009
KarenC
rated it:
Good read. Less medical detail than some of her previous titles, but surely enough for the reader to be able to see the clues and to follow the forensics. Story line came across as one story instead of multiples to tie together at the end. A few incidents seemed a little contrived to help the plot along.
Brennan's personal life gets a little complicated when both of her significant others end up in the same house. Amusing interplay between the guys for a while lent a lighter tone to parts of the More...
Brennan's personal life gets a little complicated when both of her significant others end up in the same house. Amusing interplay between the guys for a while lent a lighter tone to parts of the More...
Aug 07, 2011
Susie
rated it:
Another audio book, this one read by Barbara Rosenblat.
Halfway through, I was waiting for the story to be more about the bodies found and less about Temperance Brennan and her estranged husband Pete. Pete continued to be a problem for me throughout the story and I found his sub-plot superfluous to the mystery contained in the book. (I found treatment of the aftermath of Pete's -- (SPOILER) incident -- as too terse to make me believe Tempe's emotional progression as far as he was concer More...
Halfway through, I was waiting for the story to be more about the bodies found and less about Temperance Brennan and her estranged husband Pete. Pete continued to be a problem for me throughout the story and I found his sub-plot superfluous to the mystery contained in the book. (I found treatment of the aftermath of Pete's -- (SPOILER) incident -- as too terse to make me believe Tempe's emotional progression as far as he was concer More...
Feb 28, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I found out that this series is the inspiration for the TV show Bones so I thought that it might be a fun read. I am not a huge Bones fanatic, but I do find it entertaining every now and then. The book, to be honest, bored me. What I like about the Bones TV show is that Dr. Brennan has this antisocial way about her - she doesn't really know how to interact with living people, and yet she still has empathy and she does care. That's the most endearing part about that character. In the book sh
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Jan 01, 2010
Diane
rated it:
Break No Bones<i/> is my second exposure to Reichs' Temperance Brennan series and one that continued to intrigue and satisfy. Another easy read, good for a long afternoon or evening curled up in your favorite chair or other reading place.
Temperance steps in to oversee a college in-field archeology dig on one of South Carolina's barrier islands. Objective: to prove or disprove whether there are historical Native American remains on the island. The grisly fun begins when stu More...
Temperance steps in to oversee a college in-field archeology dig on one of South Carolina's barrier islands. Objective: to prove or disprove whether there are historical Native American remains on the island. The grisly fun begins when stu More...
Feb 17, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
My lastest audio book in the car was Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs. The main character was the inspiration for the Fox tv show Bones. I love the show, so I was prepared to love the books.
I hate the book. The only thing it has in common with the show is the character name and field of occupation.
The book has a lot of extraneous, rambling information that contributes nothing to the story. It starts out very slow, and doesn't get into the story very quickly. I listened to sever More...
I hate the book. The only thing it has in common with the show is the character name and field of occupation.
The book has a lot of extraneous, rambling information that contributes nothing to the story. It starts out very slow, and doesn't get into the story very quickly. I listened to sever More...
Jul 12, 2011
Syd
rated it:
Two stars means "it was OK" and that's what I thought about this book.
Unfortunately I kept comparing it to the TV show, which I like very much, and they aren't really very much alike. Kathy Reichs (author) is executive producer of the TV show so I'm sure the show being based on the books but not much like them is totally intentional.
The main character has the same name in the books and on the show, Temperance Brennon, but she does not have the nickname, "Bones More...
Unfortunately I kept comparing it to the TV show, which I like very much, and they aren't really very much alike. Kathy Reichs (author) is executive producer of the TV show so I'm sure the show being based on the books but not much like them is totally intentional.
The main character has the same name in the books and on the show, Temperance Brennon, but she does not have the nickname, "Bones More...
Jan 20, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
I like the older and wiser Tempe much more than her youthful TV counterpart, Bones. She is engaged with the world, with her grown up daughter and her endearing but unfaithful ex-husband, and with her tentative new relationship with a Montreal detective. Kathy Reichs kept the mystery cracking along while still giving plenty of time to Tempe's personal life and her struggle to put aside the affection she still feels for her husband despite the end of their marriage. The characters were interesting
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Aug 05, 2009
Bryn
rated it:
I have loved Kathy Reichs' Tempe Brennan series for years. Great character, intriguing mysteries, and interesting forensic anthropological facts. This time, however, the story fell flat. There were places in which I *gasp* skimmed! What happened to the plot? It just sort of plodded along. The few times it began to twist and turn, I found myself so entangled in medical terminology that I lost the suspense. As for Tempe... almost nothing happened to her. Well, there was the sick friend ang
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Nov 25, 2008
Winnie
rated it:
My first Kathy Reichs book - review to follow.
Not bad - but for low maintenance/wise cracking/semi loner female detectives, I really prefer Kinsey Millhone.
Not bad - but for low maintenance/wise cracking/semi loner female detectives, I really prefer Kinsey Millhone.
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Jun 09, 2010
Jlaurenmc
rated it:
In order to jump right back on the horse and into the saddle, I started Break No Bones. The novel is set in South Carolina's low country and in the city of Charleston. A southern novel, so I was destined to like it from the beginning. While conducting a student dig on an outlying island, Tempe discovers a newly buried body among the ancient bones of the Indian burial site. Tempe's friend Emma is the coroner in Charleston, so Tempe is asked to help with the investigation despite being out of her
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Dec 27, 2010
Keilani
rated it:
If you like the Bones tv series, this is nothing like it. Ok, so the tv series is based off of this author's books, but Temperance Brennen is nothing in the book like she is on the show. However that being said, while I'm a huge fan of the show, I also like the books. Basically, you have the anthropologist figuring out who the body is and who dun it, and throw in a little of her personal life and drama. They are engaging and enjoyable. Warning - she has no issue with swear words. This one
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Jan 01, 2010
Kathleen
rated it:
It's a couple of years since I read a Kathy Reichs novel, and the last one was one I didn't enjoy that much, so it was with a little hesitancy that I started this. Well, I needn't have bothered being concerned - she (or me, because it may have been my state of mind that caused the unhappines with that last one) was back to the great kind of story that I'd loved in all the former ones.
What did I like in particular about this? - I enjoyed the sparring between the ex-husband and the bo More...
What did I like in particular about this? - I enjoyed the sparring between the ex-husband and the bo More...
May 05, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
Requires great suspension of disbelief to swallow the idea of Tempe (a forensic anthropologist from Charlotte), Ryan (her detective boyfriend from Quebec), and Pete (her estranged husband, a lawyer) solving murders in Charleston. Hello, jurisdiction?
And a shoutout to my librarian friends - you might find it annoying that Tempe searches in vain for a journal article online, and then suddenly her hindbrain reminds her where to find it (conveniently, in a book in her living room). A wom More...
And a shoutout to my librarian friends - you might find it annoying that Tempe searches in vain for a journal article online, and then suddenly her hindbrain reminds her where to find it (conveniently, in a book in her living room). A wom More...
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Jul 01, 2011
Kacee
rated it:
Like others, I agree that this is one of those rare instances where the TV show is better than the book. In the TV show Bones, main character Temperance Brennan is a complex character with an endearing case of Asperger's, an encyclopedic knowledge of all things anthropologic, and a surprising soft spot for the people for whom she cares. In the book, Brennan is a boring, middle aged, divorcee without a lot of depth or insight. The plot wasn't terribly original--standard Law and Order fare--and it
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Nov 11, 2009
Cris
rated it:
This is the first Temperance Brennan book I'v read. I enjoyed it and although I really like the TV show, I like the Temperance character in the book more than the one on TV. The TV Temperance is just TOO logical making her odd. The book Temperance is someone more real and easier to relate to. This book is the 9th in the series. My next one will be #1. In this book, Temperance is on Dewees, a barrier island north of Charleston, South Carolina, where she is leading a student excavation of a Native
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Dec 09, 2011
Mindy
rated it:
Such a good mystery! I was expecting the character from the tv series. This Dr. Brennan is different in some peripheral ways but I really enjoy her intelligence and sense of humor. Her estranged husband is a lawyer turned detective--unfaithful but handsome, smart and charismatic . She has a daughter in college. Her love interest is a canadian lieutenant homicide detective, loyal, wickedly smart, handsome and funny. KR has a great writing style. The story is involved and evolving. I wish
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Jul 29, 2011
Catherine
rated it:
Little did Temperance Brennan realize when she led a student archaelogy class on an ancient Native American dig on an island off Charlesston, SC, that she was going to unearth more recent remains. Bugs, shells and the smell of death. Then another body is found, this one hanging headless in the woods. But both bodies bear the same strange marks.Tempe's asked by the coroner, a sick friend, to assist a county sheriff, a hard-boiled good ole boy no doubt last seen sweating Paul Neuman in "Cool
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Jun 24, 2010
(´*•.¸ღBexღ¸.•*´)
rated it:
I had avoided Kathy Reichs' books for a while, finding her plots somewhat repetitive and was getting bored with how (to me) unnecessarily complicated Temperance's personal relationships were and yet they were just going in the same circles. So I picked this one up, not sure what to expect. I'm glad I did. Yes, her relationships are still complicated, but I liked the direction this book took them in. Reich's writing can be almost formulaic (she always ends her chapters on a cliffhanger note...an
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Oct 26, 2011
Carol
rated it:
Among the ancient remains in a Native American burial ground, Tempe discovers a fresh skeleton. What begins as an ordinary teaching stint at a field school in Charleston, South Carolina, becomes an investigation into a pattern of homicides. The clues hidden in the bones lead to a street clinic where a terrifying discovery awaits, and Tempe -- whose personal life is in upheaval, with two men competing for her -- can't afford any distractions as she pieces together a terrifying puzzle. I have rea
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Aug 03, 2011
Stacy
rated it:
I like the tv show. I like the books. I wish I could love the books...but I can't. I have read enough of them to realize that the plot format is:
1. Random death that Tempe can't explain
2. Personal crisis in Tempe's life
3. Other related deaths magically discovered and they conveniently link together to prove Tempe's theory
4. At some point, Tempe will make a bad decision that could include going alone to a dangerous spot, keeping secrets from the police or trusting someone not More...
1. Random death that Tempe can't explain
2. Personal crisis in Tempe's life
3. Other related deaths magically discovered and they conveniently link together to prove Tempe's theory
4. At some point, Tempe will make a bad decision that could include going alone to a dangerous spot, keeping secrets from the police or trusting someone not More...
Jun 21, 2011
Sara
rated it:
This is the second book I have read by Kathy Reichs and I found I did stick to this one more than the previous one. I can't think of the one that I read previously...Devil Bones or something along those lines was the title.
I enjoy the television show and have tried to read a few of these. They are okay, I like them and may read more but only when I am out of other books to read. I found the book very predictable. Other than that I enjoyed it.
I wouldn't put it as a series I' More...
I enjoy the television show and have tried to read a few of these. They are okay, I like them and may read more but only when I am out of other books to read. I found the book very predictable. Other than that I enjoyed it.
I wouldn't put it as a series I' More...
Jan 19, 2011
Stefan
rated it:
Another wonderful book from Kathy Reichs. While heading an archaeological dig in Charleston, South Carolina, Dr. Temperance Brennan becomes involved in investigating a string of homicides at the request of local coronoer and friend Emma Rousseau. What Tempe uncovers is more shocking than she could previously imagine. However As always with Kathy Reichs, with the grim also comes the humor, and this book doesn't disappoint with the long anticipated (to me at least) meeting between Tempe's estrange
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